Key-fastener



No. 6|5,82o. Patented nec. ls, |898. T. J. mckmsom KEY vFASTENER.

(Apphcatxcn led Feb. 8, 1898.)

(No Mndelb NITED STATES,4

PATENT Frio-*nt THOMAS J. DICKINSON, OF HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA.

KEY-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 615,820, dated December 13, 1898.

Application filed February 8, 1898. Serial N- 669,5l6. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. DIoKINscN, a citizenof the United States, residing at Hazleton, in the county of Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Key-Fastener, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to key guards or holders, and is designed to prevent the key from being turned and displaced from the keyhole of a lock by an unauthorized party on the outside of the door.

The essential features of my invention consist in providing a hinge-leaf at one edge of the escutcheon-plate generally used upon a door provided with the usual mortised lock, the said hinge-leaf adapted to fold over the escutcheon-plate and close the keyhole, and further provided with a transverse slot for engagement with the shank of the key, whereby the same is prevented from turning in the lock, means being provided for locking the hinged leaf when the device is placed in position for use, comprising a gravity-latch pivoted to the hinged plate and adapted to engage a catch provided upon the face of the door. These and further objects and advantages will be hereinafter more fully shown and described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of a door having my invention applied thereon. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View thereof. Fig. 3 is an elevation of my device with the hinged member open. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the gravity-latch and guidingstud detached.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, l designates an ordinary escutcheon -plate having the usual keyhole-slot 2. Hinged to one side of this escutcheon-plate in any suitable manner is a separate plate 3, provided with a transverse slot 4, arranged directly across the circular opening 5 of the keyholeslot 2. This transverse slot preferably eX- tends from the outer edge of the plate 3 and. exposes the entire Width of the keyhole-slot. By this arrangement it Will be readily understood how after the key 6 has been inserted into the lock and turned to operate the same the hinged leaf 3 is folded over upon the es cutcheon-plate, the key-shank 7 fitting within the slot 4. The key cannot then be turned, as either of the faces of the shank of the key will contact with the edge of the slot, and thus effectually prevent the turning of the key. The leaf 3 can be hinged to the escutcheonplate upon either edge, and I preferably form the escutcheon-plate with lateral flanges or ribs 8 at the top and bottom thereof, respectively, for the purpose of forming a substantialbearing for the hinged leaf to prevent the same from being pried or forced from its hinges, and thus release the key.

As myinvention is designed to engage with the shank of the key as close as possible to the face of the door, it is not essential that the locking member be formed upon the escutcheon-plate,for it may be mounted directly upon the door itself.

To prevent the key from being pushed out of the keyhole, I provide suitable means for locking the hinged leaf after being folded upon the escutcheonplate,` consisting of a suitable gravity-latch 9, pivoted upon the outer face of the hinged leaf at 10 and provided With a slot l1. This slot is adapted to engage with a headed s'tud or pin 12, which forms a. suitable guide for the latch and insures the positivelocking of the gravity-latch with a suitable catch or keeper 13, provided upon the face of the door. This keeper consists of a main body 14, suitably secured to the face of the door and having an arm I5 bent or formed at right'angles thereto and provided upon its upper edge with a slot or notch 16, into which the gravity-latch 9 is adapted to fall, and thus securely lock the hinged leaf against pressure of the key from the outside. By this arrangement of parts I have provided a device, as herein described, which presents a neat and attractive appearance upon the door, is composed of few parts, can be easily and quickly operated, and cannot possibly get out of order, and, further, have produced a key guard or holder in which the one hinged member engages the shank of the key to eifectually prevent the same from being turned in the lock,l as well as prevents .the key from being forced out ofthe lock by an unauthorized party on the 'outside of the door.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting ICO myself to the precise construction and arrangement as herein shown and described, as various changes maybe made in the form, proportion, and minor details Without departing from the spirit and scope or sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

In a device of the class described, the combination with an escutcheon-plate and alocking-plate, the latter being hinged to one side of and adapted to be folded over upon the escutcheon-plate and be seated between the outturned edges thereof, and provided with a slot extending from the outer edge of the hinged plate a sufficient distance to expose the Width of the keyhole-slot, of means for THOMAS J.- DICKINSON.v

Vitnesses:

HARVEY FREDERICK, THOMAS WM. DIoKINsoN. 

